Financial planning veteran Ric Edelman will serve as founding head of Rowan University's new School of Financial Planning, in partnership with Edelman Financial Engines.
Rowan University announced Thursday that Edelman Financial Engines has committed $10 million to establish the new school. The emphasis will be on preparing students to attain the certified financial planner designation.
"We're offering a minor, major and master's, and we plan to produce more CFP-ready graduates than any other college in the country," Ric Edelman said in a LinkedIn post.
"Just in time, too," Edelman said. "Every day, 12,000 Americans turn 65 — creating a shortfall of 100,000 advisors by 2035. We'll also make sure our new advisor corps is more diverse, compared to today's, which is 80% white and 70% male. A more diverse advisor corps can more effectively serve the diverse communities that make up our nation."
The need for more advisors, Edelman continued, "is huge: Fewer than 200 colleges and universities offer financial planning degrees — compared to 1,500 offering business, accounting, finance and marketing degrees. The result? Last year, 268,000 seniors graduated with those degrees. But financial planning? Barely 4,000 students got that degree."
Edelman, an author and founder of the RIA Edelman Financial Engines who now leads the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, is also a university distinguished lecturer and executive-in-residence at Rowan's Rohrer College of Business.
Rowan awarded Edelman an honorary doctorate in 1999, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Classes will start in the fall, Edelman told ThinkAdvisor in a separate phone interview Friday.
While much of the $10 million will go into an endowment, "the rest [of the funds] will go toward the operational aspects of the school; we have to hire the faculty and we'll be raising additional money," Edelman said. "Our goal is to raise $15 million; we're talking with other organizations now."
Edelman said he anticipates that the faculty roster will include both full-time and adjunct staff. "My goal is to bring active financial advisors onto the faculty, or those who are preparing to retire."
Rowan University President Ali Houshmand said in the statement that "Financial education is a logical and important part of our public service mission as a state research institution. Having Edelman Financial Engines as our lead partner and Ric Edelman heading the school allows us to develop a world-class program."
Retirement Readiness
More financial planners are needed "to help us end our nation's retirement readiness crisis," Edelman said on LinkedIn.
"Only 70% of workers participate in their retirement plan, and most don't contribute enough or choose the right investments — so almost all of them enter retirement with far less money than they need. The result: 65+ is the fastest-growing age group for bankruptcy filings. All because most Americans lack a financial planner. In fact, only 21% of adults have a written financial plan. No wonder most Americans are failing financially!"
Ralph Haberli, CEO and president of Edelman Financial Engines, added in the statement that "Expanding access to high-quality financial advice starts with investing in the people who deliver it. We have championed greater access to financial education, literacy and guidance for four decades, and are committed to further advancing this mission by building a strong and diverse pipeline of talent prepared to guide investors at every stage of their financial journey."
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